REVIEW: Paper Towns by John Green

Who is the real Margo? Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. She has disappeared. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance ...and they are for him. Trailing Margo's disconnected path across the USA, the closer Q gets, the less sure he is of who he is looking for.

It's taken me a long time to work out what I wanted to say about Paper Towns and about John Green. Most of you know I'm a huge fan? So I figured that I really couldn't write a normal review of this book. It just isn't possible without adding 'OMG! How much did I love this book?' all the time and coming over as all fan-girly. So instead, a list, to keep me focused. Of the top 5 ways that I loved this book.

1. The characters - First, there's Q. And because I've watched the video of John Green reading the first chapter of the book on his youtube channel, I picture Q with the voice of John Green in my head. Q is a really likeable and believable teenage boy. He's had a crush on his neighbour Margo Roth Spiegelman since forever and after they spend an adventurous night out and she disappears, Q takes it upon himself to track down the clues and find Margo. He can be a little dense sometimes and he's a little self-centred, but I heart him. I love how Margo comes across as this really larger-than-life character. Q really builds her up and holds her in high esteem and over the course of the novel as he learns more about Margo and himself, he's able to have a more realistic and complex view of her and of himself.

2. The layered narrative - If I didn't already love John Green before this, then I would have done after reading Paper Towns. He really combined so many things in this novel. The idea to imagine other people complexly, this concept of paper towns and paper people, the way in which the poetry of Walt Whitman and music added more to the story. The omnictionary made my inner-nerd smile. Even Margo's name adds to the message that John Green puts across in this book (it meaning 'mirror' in German, I believe). I went to an event to hear John Green speak in London and he talked about one particular scene in which he was trying to convey a message through the use of imagery, specifically mirrors and windows and I was blown away. Where Margo is trying to tell Q something important, and instead of seeing her like through a window, Q is seeing only a reflection of himself. (if that doesn't make sense then perhaps it will once you've read the book!)

3. The friendship - What's also great about Paper Towns is the friendships. I do so love the male bonding experience that most of John Green's characters go through. Paper Towns is no different, with Q's best friends Radar and Ben. They are absolutely hilarious to read about and some of the dialogue between these boys is pure genius. Also, black Santas? I could have died laughing. Whilst the boys' friendship is great, I also really loved the transformation of Lacey, former friend of Margo who goes from being a popular out-of-reach character to a member of the group as they race off on an adventure together.

4. The road trip - Which brings us to the road trip. Guys, I adore road trips in books, especially road trips like the epic one in Paper Towns. Hilarious, hilarious things happen on this road trip. I would kill to go on a road trip like this, playing Metaphorical-I-Spy and eating junk food with some of my best friends while fraught with emergency to get where you need to go by a certain time. I had so much fun reading this book. I feel a re-read coming on.

5. The fact that John Green is so amazing - Seriously, you guys. Read the books. Watch the YouTube channel. Join Nerdfighters. Fan-girl with me.

Needless to say, Paper Towns is one of my favourite books that I've read all year. Possibly ever. John Green is firmly on my list of favourite authors and I highly recommend this book!

My Wishlist of American Sweets

I'm American. I forgot to blog about it, but in August I celebrated my 10 year moving-to-England anniversary. Ten years! When people meet me they usually ask what I miss the most about the United States. Most people expect to hear something along the lines of close family members, childhood friends... perhaps a loveable family pet. But no. Here are the things that I miss the most.

1. Airheads - My all-time favourite type of sweet. I'd love to have these by the bucket-load. In fact, a friend recently took a holiday to Las Vegas and asked if I'd like anything. I only mentioned Airheads and (because she must know me very well) she brought back a bumper box of a variety of 72 Airheads. I was in heaven and she became my best friend. I could eat Airheads all day.

2. Bit-o-Honey - Have you heard of these? I don't think they're very popular? But my dad used to love them and because they were often in the house, I came to love them too. They're just so chewy and have the fantastic honey flavour. Love Bit-O-Honey.

3. Welch's Grape soda - How do I come to love Welch's Grape Soda as much as I do? It's a mystery, even to me. But I love that grape-y goodness!


4. Tootsie Rolls - I remember one year my dad bought this gigantic bag of Tootsie Roll Midgees for Halloween. Only he bought it in like, September. Yeah. Those suckers didn't last until the end of October! When they're that little, those things are addictive.

5. Laffy Taffy - Mmmmm, Laffy Taffy. My favourite is apple. Sour apple? I can't quite recall anymore. When I was little, I used to empty my piggy bank and walk up to the 7-11 behind my house and buy what I could. And Laffy Taffys are cheap, so they usually ended up coming home with me.

6. Almond M&Ms - This is one the whole family loves. My dad used to buy huge bags of these everytime he came over to visit and give some to me, to N and to N's mother. It was a huge Almond M&M party. Understandable, as they are delicious.

7. Mike-n-Ikes - Have you spotted a trend yet? I like fruity flavoured chewy sweets. I never really noticed that before. I have a total of two types of chocolate on this list, two drinks and the rest chewy sweets! This list is making me more self-aware! (I'm such a dork.)

8. Root beer - I have no preference for A&W or MUG. Either are very acceptable to me. There's an American restaurant (Tony Roma's) about an hour away that serves Mountain Dew and root beer from their menu. I love going there. Incidentally, Mountain Dew would have been on this list, apart from the fact that I am able to get it here in the UK finally! Certain petrol stations in my area sell it. Woohoo. But! Root beer floats = love.

9. Candy Corn - Now that Halloween is around the corner, I have candy corn on my mind. Halloween just isn't the same without it :(

10. Butterfinger - Last but not least, we have Butterfinger. As I've mentioned, I don't have a lot of chocolate on my list, but I definitely make an exception for Butterfingers. It's the peanut-brittle-type centre. Love that stuff.

PHEW! I'm getting hungry after writing all that out! Before you feel too sorry for me, there are certain websites that allow for importing all of these items! I don't use them often, and what I actually miss the most is wandering into a 7-11 (or whatever) and picking up all those interesting new varieties of my favourite sweets that are only found in America. I love that. Do you love these sweets too?

What is your favourite type of chocolate/sweet?

REVIEW: The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

The Boyfriend List was a homework assignment for my mental health. Doctor Z, my shrink, told me to write down all the boyfriends, kind-of boyfriends, almost-boyfriends, rumoured boyfriends and wished-he-were boyfriends I've ever had. Plus, she recommended I take up knitting. In the same ten days I: lost my boyfriend (boy No. 13); lost my best friend; lost all my other friends; learned gory details about my now-ex boyfriend's sexual adventures; did something shockingly advanced with boy No 15; did something suspicious with boy No. 10; had an argument with boy No. 14; drank my first beer; got caught by my mom; lost a lacrosse game; failed a maths test; became a leper and became a famous slut. Enough to give anyone panic attacks, right? I was so overwhelmed by the horror of the whole debacle that I had to skip school for a day to read mystery novels, cry and eat spearmint jelly candies.

Wow. How have I not read this before now? I have such a crush on both E Lockhart AND Ruby Oliver now. I was absolutely thrilled and excited to learn that this is the first in a series all about Roo and her disastrous love life!

The Boyfriend List was such a surprise me to when I read it, the cover made it seem to me, that it was aimed at a sort of middle grade audience. I really wasn't expecting to LOVE it as much as I do. And I do love it so much.

After her boyfriend dumps her leads a series of bad events, Ruby Oliver is instructed to see a therapist. Roo's been under so much stress that she's been having panic attacks. She's asked to make a Boyfriend List and write down all the boys she's ever crushed on, went out with, rumoured to have gone out with, or kissed in order to get to the bottom of Roo's troubles. And at the same time as she's explaining this list to us and why all these boys are on it, we learn what exactly happened with her ex-boyfriend and the series of bad events that led to the panic attacks, and Ruby learns some important lessons about herself. And some of the boys on the list? Very swoon-worthy! How excited am I to have more Finn and Noel and all the others in the next books...

The Boyfriend List is funny and sweet and heartbreaking. It ranks pretty high up on my list of favourite YA books ever. Roo is such a great character with a wonderful voice! She's so believable and she snuck right into my heart. Where she will always have a home. Now excuse me, while I go read The Boy Book!

Mini-review Monday 3

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. As per usual, here is a small selection of mini-reviews for today! No theme today, just a collection of books that I've read recently that I haven't had the time to write out full, thoughtful reviews of. Thankfully, I've enjoyed all of these books! :)

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine - Welcome to Morganville, Texas.

Just don't stay out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero.

When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this the first book in the Morganville Vampire series! I didn't have a very good impression of the books beforehand, but then I didn't know very much about them either. I wasn't even considering reading yet another bunch of vampire books, but I took pity on someone on the book-swapping website I use and took a chance on swapping for this book. And I really, really liked it! And luckily, I have the next few books in the series waiting for me. (Squeeee, I've been totally converted to this series!)

Glass Houses takes on an interesting take on vampires - that the town is run and controlled by them, which I think will be explored a bit in the rest of the series. The vampires didn't seem to be the focus of this book - but on the main characters, Claire and her group of new friends. Claire is quite young to be attending university, but after a rocky start, she's really trying to gain some independence and control over the situations that she finds herself in. I wasn't sure of Glass Houses at first, when Claire starts being bullied by some very cliched characters in her dorn rooms, but the book really picks up once she joins forces at Michael's house and the quirky group of kids who live there. Michael, the musician nightowl with secrets, Eve the likeable goth girl. Hunky Shane. I really connected with each of these characters and I felt like I'd love to part of their little circle and be their friend and roommate!

Now that I've hashed out a quick (albeit terrible) review of this book, I can read the sequels.. Bring them on!

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Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott - Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showcasing photos of pretty girls and his party lifestyle all over the Internet, and her mom was once one of her dad's girlfriends and is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for way too long, Hannah has mastered the art of staying under the radar...and that's just how she likes it.

Of course, that doesn't help her get noticed by her crush. Hannah's sure that gorgeous, sensitive Josh is her soul mate. But trying to get him to notice her; wondering why she suddenly can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn; and dealing with her parents make Hannah feel like she's going crazy. Yet she's determined to make things work out the way she wants -- only what she wants may not be what she needs...

Oh, another enjoyable Elizabeth Scott book! Another gentle love story, similar in tone and style to Bloom. I'll really need to pick up one of her other books that is very different to her love stories and if it works out well, she'll be very close to being on my list of current favourite authors. There's just something about her books that make me want to smile. They're very happy-inducing these books (though I know not all of her books are! eek).

Hannah has the most awkward parents ever. Her father came across as a sort of Hugh Heffner type, as an older man constantly surrounded by really young models hanging on his arm. And her mom, who now makes her money by sitting in front of her webcam in her underwear. Things can be a little embarassing for poor Hannah. Especially when all she wants to do is go unnoticed ... except by her long-standing crush, Josh. And then there's Finn. Who notices her and pays attention but isn't as showy-offy as Josh.

This one is quite a slim, quick read. Very sweet with an endearing main character who you can't help but root for!

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Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw - Ten years ago Kate Winters’ parents were taken by the High Council’s wardens to help with the country’s war effort. Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane – the High Council’s most feared man – recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council’s experiments into the veil, and he’s convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft – a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.

Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for a really good fantasy book. And Wintercraft was the perfect book for my fantasy craving. It has everything I look for... an interesting new world, believeable characters and a fast paced plot.

Right from the very first page I was drawn in by Wintercraft. There's Kate living with her Uncle in a bookshop and along come the Wardens and their hunt for the Skilled and Kate's world is thrown into chaos as she's hunted by scary Silas Dane. I thought Silas Dane was a fantastically depicted villian - the creep factor was pretty high! And Edgar was lovely as Kate's friend-with-secrets. And along with all the mysteries and questions, so kept coming the twists.

I thoroughly enjoyed my journey with Wintercraft. It reminded me a little bit of the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix, with the whole veil between the living and the dead and a circle must be cast and all. That comparison though? Totally a good thing. I've just heard the next book in the series is out early next year, YAY! Wintercraft comes highly recommended from me!

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Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore - Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

I don't like books with fairies in them. Fairies sort of creep me out, so I have no idea why I bought Magic Under Glass. Not only is this book about a fairy trapped in an automaton, but the fantasy world that it is set in feels like Victorian London. And historical fiction is another area of literature that I tend to avoid. And yet, I still enjoyed Magic Under Glass.

It was kind of a gentle read, nothing happens too quickly or too suddenly. But we see our main character, Nimira go from being a dancer in a dingy performance hall to being hired as a singer to accompany a piano-playing automaton. There's a bit of a strange undercurrent at this new place out in the country, about the automaton and spooky goings-on. There's even a room in this new house of stuffed fairies which is quite creepy. Nim soon finds out that a fairy is trapped inside the automaton and could hold the key to save all of fairy-kind but preventing a terrible war. That description makes it sound a little more fraught with peril than it really is.

As the fairy is trapped inside another body, it didn't feel too much like other fairy books and the Victorian feel of the world they live in was only most apparent in the first half of the book so the historical feel of it didn't ruin my enjoy for the book at all. In fact, it turned out to be quite a sweet little story, one I'm happy to have read.

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Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta - This book is not just about sex and drugs. It's about how hard it is to fit in when you're different. this book expresses a girl's life and the phases she goes through. I wrote this book because of my Nonna emmigrating to Australia. I wanted to know how it felt to live without a close member of the family near you. I never knew I was going to sit down and write about racism or suicide. If you liked this book, watch out, because a movie's coming your way.

I thought Looking For Alibrandi was a truly beautiful book. It was the first I'd read of Melina Marchetta but it certainly won't be my last.

Looking For Alibrandi covers so many things. Josephine Alibrandi is a 16 year old girl with an Italian heritage living in Australia. She doesn't feel like she fits in with the upper-class Australians at her school and deals with a fair bit of racism during the course of the book. There's also lots of family drama surrounding Josie's relationship with her mother and her grandmother. She uncovers long-standing family secrets that explain some of the behaviours and attitudes that her mother and her Nonna have for each other. Josie's father, who she's never met, re-enters her life and she gains a new boyfriend. At school, her friends persuade her to do things she otherwise wouldn't do. As she struggles to come to terms with who she is and where she fits in she must also struggle with the loss of a close friend.

Honestly, I wept buckets over this book. I loved Josie's feisty attitude, could definitely relate to her feelings of not belonging, her reactions to racism. I loved the whole family dynamic of her and her mother, their strained relationship with her Nonna, this newly emerging relationship with her father. Dysfunctional families are so soothing for me to read about. Her adventures into dating were quite comical, and I felt like her and I both did a bit of growing up towards the end of the novel. The sad bit? Was really sad and took me by surprise and left my heart in pieces.

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And there we have it, the end of another Mini-review Monday. Are you enjoying the mini-reviews? I'd fallen quite far behind in my reviews, which is why it was quite necessary in order to lump a handful of books together. I'm a little better caught up with the reviews now, but would you like to me to carry on? Yes? No? No thoughts either way? Leave me a comment.

And as always, have you read any of these books? Have something to add?

A guest post about Anita Roddick (Awesome Women series)

In 1989 students protested in Tiananmen Square, the Berlin wall came down, George Bush began his first term as the president of the USA and I became a vegetarian. Although I don’t confess for one moment that my turning vegetarian compares to the preceding world events, for me it was life changing and it was all because of the influence of one lady, Anita Roddick.

Anita Roddick first came under my radar as the founder of the Body Shop. In the eighties, the Body Shop was currently in vogue. The concept of toiletries and cosmetics not being tested on animals and refilling your containers after use, was considered to be radical and new wave. So radical in fact, it took a while to reach my neighbourhood, but when it did I was hooked. Every time I hit the shops, the smell always enticed me to go in and try any new product they had in store. Turning vegetarian was just a further concept of the work Anita was putting in to reform the UK - I used toiletries not tested on animals, so why should I eat them? It was as simple as that. I turned vegetarian almost over night and I still remain one to this day.

When Anita released her auto biography, Body and Soul, I devoured it and it influenced me greatly. I began to wash (my very) long hair in a small sink to conserve water and her techniques of reusing paper is still firmly imprinted in my brain. Her maverick ideas of what the world would look like in twenty years time and how we as humans are destroying the world in which we live in, is something that is high on people’s agendas today. Yet twenty years ago, when Anita campaigned for a better world, her ideas were deemed as radical.

Anita was definitely a pioneer in terms of human rights and environmental issues and twenty years later, her ‘radical’ ideas and concepts have affected me strongly in how I live and view the world.

I read about her death in the newspaper and the first thing that sprung to my mind was sadness, that I hadn’t had chance to meet this great woman and tell her what an effect she has had on this girl from Nottingham.

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A HUGE thank you to Janette of 40 Things To Do Before I'm 40 for this wonderful guest post about Anita Roddick! When I sent out an open invitation for guest posts on the women that my blog readers are inspired by, I had no idea that people would actually want to take part!

And Janette is actually someone who really inspires me. I've been reading her blog now for awhile where she chronicles her successes with her rather ambitious list of (just what it says in the title) 40 things she'd like to do before she turns 40. Skinny dipping, learning a foreign language, owning a pair of Jimmy Choos, and surfing amongst others. It's a very diverse list and she really didn't go with easy options either.

I'm always on the look-out for ways to improve and make my life more interesting/better and instead of just thinking about it, Janette seems like she's actually doing it. Thank you again Janette!

And while I've heard of Anita Roddick before this, I didn't know much that much about her. I found this post to be fascinating - I had no idea that she was so keen on environmental issues, so thank you for the education! :)

If you're reading this and thinking, hey I know an awesome woman who inspires me and would like to write a guest post to be featured on my blog, you still can, if you like! Leave a comment with your email address or email me!

Writerly crushes

I had this great conversation once with someone where we were discussing the authors that we loved to read who were also really quite good-looking. It was fun to see which authors each of us loved and how each of us defined 'good-looking.' We ended up with a really long list of authors, which sadly I did not write down. Here are the highlights of that day.


1. Neil Gaiman - I'm fairly sure that Neil Gaiman would be on most people's lists. He writes beautifully, has an interesting accent, seems like the coolest guy around, the uncontrollable hair. He's very much a rock star, isn't he? Except he's an author. One whose novels I've read mostly read (but not many of his graphic novels, WAAHH!) and and I will read anything he writes. Until forever. Some of my favourites? The Graveyard Book, Coraline, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Stardust.

2. John Green - Nerdfighters FTW!! This one is a little bit strange as I don't find John Green good-looking so much, but he is absolutely adorable. I saw him on one of his BlogTV broadcasts the other day, and he read poetry. And I've never wanted to know more about poetry as he did just then. When I'm watching his videos, I'm really struck by how smart and passionate he is about things, and when those things are books and words and language, then how can I not feel warm-fuzzies for him?! His books in order of my preference: Paper Towns, Looking For Alaska, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), An Abundance of Katherines.

3. Markus Zusak - Let's get this out of the way first, I have yet to read The Book Thief! I know, how shocking is that? I will get to it, I promise. I did, however, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE I Am The Messenger! And Fighting Ruben Wolfe. I have Getting the Girl in my stack of books to read soon, and how excited am I that he is publishing a new book, Bridge of Clay early next year! And isn't he gorgeous?

4. Michael Chabon - Look at those eyes. I think Michael Chabon is the author I know the least about. In fact, I believe he was the person who kicked off this conversation of cute authors in the first place asI had no idea what he looked like at all! I absolute adore his novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001) and have since read Wonder Boys and I'm in the process of acquiring his other books. He's one of those authors that I'm most excited to read more from.

5. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - A Nigerian author who's been quite popular within the blogging community with her two novels, Purple Hibiscus (which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for a first novel in 2005) and Half Of A Yellow Sun (which won the Orange Prize in 2007) I sadly have not read either despite owning them both. I have, however, read her collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck and enjoyed them very much. I hear that her novels are much more complex and detailed and I'm fairly confident that I will love them to bits. So at least I have that waiting for me. Isn't she absolutely striking?!


And there we have it! Who would you include on your list of authors-you-love-to-read-who-are-also-incredibly-good-looking?

REVIEW: Almost True by Keren David

Ruthless killers are hunting Ty so the police move him and his mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he’s not safe. On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers . . . who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him. Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him straight to the gangsters. A thrilling sequel to When I Was Joe, shot through with drama and suspense.

Phew. What a ride this book is! Almost True is the sequel to When I Was Joe by Keren David which was one of my favourite books that I've read all year. I was absolutely beside myself with excitement to recieve my copy of this book for the UK Book Tours and started it right away - abandoning the other book I had been reading. It was worth it.

Almost True continues with Ty's story. His mum and him have been living in another town under different names and still hiding from the people who are trying to kill Ty because of what he witnessed. ..Only instead of Ty, someone else is shot. So now, Ty is sent somewhere very different and is able to explore another aspect of his identity, one that has life-changing results.

In When I Was Joe I found that was able to be quite funny and charming at times, and in Almost True it feels as though so much has been weighing on him, with his separation from Claire, the guilt for the things that he's done and the knowledge that other people in his life are getting hurt because of what he's put them through has changed him. The tone of this novel is very different. It feels more serious and grown-up. But there is a dog and a new friend for Ty who do lighten up the mood some.

There's a real importance in Almost True to being honest and of the truth. The seriousness and the consequences of knife crime. And lots and lots of making mistakes. Ty messes up pretty badly with the choices that he makes and what's great is that Keren David shows us, too, that everyone important in Ty's life has made some really terrible mistakes as well. And that's OK. Because even though it's a tough road to go down, they've each taken responsibility and were able to move on and have decent enough lives. It's a wonderful message to give to readers and one that isn't said in a heavy-handed way at all.

It's a really exciting read, this one. The story is constantly moving forward and so many new things are learned about Ty and the things that have happened in his past. I did sometimes want to reach into my book and shake Ty for making some of the choices that he does, but his voice and personality are just so likeable that I can't help caring for him as well. So much so that towards the end I had to put my book down and take a little break because my heart absolutely ached for Ty. Everything feels so authentic that it's hard to believe that these characters are fictional.

What are you waiting for? You really must read When I Was Joe and Almost True! Highly recommended.

Rewatching favourite television programmes...

Have I mentioned yet how much I adore teen television dramas? I really do. Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, 90210, Felicity, Roswell, One Tree Hill, Joan of Arcadia, Friday Night Lights, Buffy, Glee, Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls and The Vampire Diaries .. even going as far back as The Wonder Years and Boy Meets World - I watch 'em all. Yes. All of them. Have most of them on DVD too, so it's easier for me to rewatch. I do have my favourites though and I am currently rewatching two of them at the moment...

The first and my favourite television series OF ALL TIME. My So-Called Life. With Claire Danes and Jared Leto as Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano.

How much do I adore this series?! I watched it every time it was on TV and I'm always thrilled to watch it again. All that angst and cleverness, wonderful dialogue and good looking people in one show. It deals with so much, from identity to fitting in to first kisses. I remember watching it growing up and I felt like I was Angela or that I wanted to be Angela and I just couldn't get enough of the show. I cried when I heard that it wasn't coming back for a second series. Mostly because I couldn't spend any more time with these fabulous characters :(

Rewatching it whilst tweeting about it with a group of friends was Diane's brilliant idea - every Tuesday at 1pm (except for the last two weeks, ack!) using the hashtag #MSCLRW and she recaps the highlights at My So-Called Life Re-watched.




And the second show that I'm rewatching at the moment, is the very dramatic The OC. I never watched it until after the show ended and then I kicked myself for missing out on all the fun. I'm watching it with N and it makes me happy when we have the chance to watch a few episodes all at once. I heart Seth Cohen! And his relationship with Summer and with Ryan and his parents. I love how Sandy and Kirsten are unshakeable as a couple andI find Julie Cooper to be the perfect mix of annoying/manipulative. We're in the middle of season one and thankfully have a long way to go until the end!

And because there are two other reasons why I watch these shows, I'm just going to add them here at the end.

Seth Cohen

Jordan Catalano

So that's what I've been watching! Do you have a favourite TV programme you like to rewatch? Do you like the teen dramas? Are you excited about the fall line-up? Let's talk TV.

REVIEW: Torment by Lauren Kate

Hell on earth. That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous. What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

I read Fallen earlier on in the year, and while I liked it, I felt it was a little slow to get going. I wasn't quite sure about Luce and Daniel, but I wanted to believe in them as a couple. While I was reading Torment the sequel to Fallen, I changed my mind pretty quickly.

In fact, I got a little annoyed while reading Torment. Daniel seems a little too eager to leave Luce powerless and ignorant, and those aren't really qualities that I like to see in a love interest. Why all the questions unanswered, why not have a little more faith in what Luce can and cannot handle? How about a little honesty, Daniel?

By this stage, I was really past my limit of paranormals anyway, so it wasn't the best time to have picked up Torment. I wanted Luce to grow herself a backbone and demand some answers, be a little less co-dependent on Daniel. I rolled my eyes at Luce and Daniel's agony over being apart for a measly 18 days. It's not even three weeks, folks, buck up. So this is where I'm at after the first 100 or so pages.

And then things start to change and be less annoying for me. I'm wondering if Lauren Kate meant for things between Luce and Daniel to be annoying? She's sent Luce off to a special school for nephilim and let her make some funky friends in the shape of roommate Shelby, gain a different perspective with her demon-teacher, Stephen and ... there's possibly even *gasp* a non-Daniel love interest? Can it be so? And at the same time, Luce is still a little shaken over the events that happened at the end of Fallen and she decides to make some of her own changes.

While I did find Luce to be a little slow in terms of realising how much danger she is in now that she's involved in this power-struggle amongst angels, she does try to learn things on her own and I have to give her credit for that. She begins to realise how her relationship with Daniel has affected those people in her life and decides to track down family members of previous lives. With the help of her roommate Shelby, she risks a lot for some answers.

By the time, the explosive ending happened, I was fully rooting for Luce. The ending made really changed my mind about the whole series and I am honestly on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book in the series. I hear it's a prequel, which sounds very interesting, is also a little aggravating as I want answers to the questions raised at the end of Torment! Gah!

This book was provided by the UK Book Tours and I am eternally grateful!

REVIEW: Major Crush and The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols

Let me start by saying how much of a Jennifer Echols fangirl I am. I love her. I was super excited when these books arrived into my home. I may have done my happy dance.



Marching to the beat of a different drum...

Tired of the beauty-pagean circuit, Virginia Sauter tosses her tiara, pierces her nose, and auditions for the most unlikely of roles -- drum major of the high school marching band.

Virginia wins, but is forced to share the title with Drew, whose family has held the position for generations. Sure, Drew is hot, but because of his superior attitude, he and Virginia are constantly arguing. That is, until they share more than just their half-time salute...

But as the drum major's heated competition turns to sizzling romance, explosive rumors threaten everything -- including the band's success. Love seemed to be a sure hit, but Virginia and Drew may be marching straight into disaster.

Honestly, somewhere inside, my inner-nerd rejoiced at such a book. How much more do I love Jennifer Echols for placing these characters within a marching band. Embarassing confession? I always wanted to be in band. It seemed like such fun. Playing music, as a group... Never have I wanted that more since reading Major Crush. Drew and Virginia are utterly adorable and as the story progresses things really start to hot up between the two of them. There's a scene in the back of the bus that reminds me of a similar scene in Forget You. School buses, eh?

So, Major Crush begins with Virginia dropping out of the beauty pageant circuit and joining the marching band. She doesn't have many friends, but she still ties for drum major with hottie Drew. Drew and Virginia don't exactly get along and seem to have a little bit of shared history? Virginia seems to be keeping a few secrets of her own, like why she dropped out of pageantry. And Drew is under a lot of pressure to hold up the family traditions.

As always, there's something more going on besides the petty dramas of marching band and I did love all the side stories, with Virginia's best friend, her relationship with her family. I didn't quite get the pressure Drew was going through, with his whole family being drum majors before? Only because I've never heard of such a familal tradition! But still! Two thumbs up.

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Brace yourself for the battle of the exes....

Hayden and Nick used to be a hot item, but their brief affair ended with a highly publicized breakup. Now the two are "just friends," excluding the occasional flirtation.

When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, Nick is unimpressed, claiming that Hayden wouldn't have a chance against a guy. Hayden calls Nick's bluff and challenges him to a head-to-head boarding contest. Their mutual friends quickly take sides, the girls on Hayden's and the boys on Nick's, making for an all-out battle of the sexes. This friendly competition is bound to get heated -- and they might end up igniting some old flames.

I think an area that Jennifer Echols really excels at is the tension that she creates between two characters. Hayden and Nick are still into each other but there's so many misunderstandings and minor little jealousies that get in the way. Plus a huge dose of pride and injured feelings.

This is the story of Hayden and Nick. They used to date ages ago until they broke up in a really public way. Now they just flirt like crazy, but they're just friends, right? When Hayden wins a snowboarding competition, Nick manages to burst her bubble by saying that a girl couldn't compete against boy snowboarders and win. So a battle of the sexes begin!

I'm not big into snow-boarding, I don't think I'd ever take part or anything. But it just all sounds very cool. Especially with sponsorship deals and winning competitions and everything. That combined with the charming characters, I was kind of awed by this book. I stayed up way too late reading it and by the end my heart was hurting. I can sympathise with Hayden's fear of heights and Nick's over-bearing dad. Everything just seemed real and believable. But also a bit like a winter fairyland with all the snow...

I heart Jennifer Echols and this sweet, fun love story of two people who obviously want to be with each other!

IMM 10

It's been pretty exciting for me this week with the books entering my house! Lots of variety :) As ever, IMM is hosted by The Story Siren. She's pretty fab, have a look.


Airhead: Runaway by Meg Cabot
The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Went a little crazy on the book-buying again this week. I still have a bit of birthday money left. It will be gone very soon, and I will go back to not buying books. *sniff* Until then, I have these lovely books to enjoy.

Rich and Mad by William Nicholson
Nearly Departed by Rook Hastings

The two were acquired via swaps. Nearly Departed via the book-swapping website I use, and Rich and Mad with the absolutely lovely Liz who blogs at Planet Print! A big thank you!

And just when I thought no more books would arrive for this week, I recieved The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, which was sent to me roundaboutly by Emma of ASAMUM BOOKTOPIA. Thanks for that :)

Went to the High Street to trawl the charity shops and came out with nothing :( That almost never happens! And, went to the library and was also expecting to come with nothing and ended up with all of these books...

The Named by Marianne Curley
The Dark by Marianne Curley
The Key by Marianne Curley
The Declaration by Gemma Malley
Shrimp by Rachel Cohn
Blue Moon by Julia Green
Red Tears by Joanna Kenrick
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

And even more books, all of these are possibly for an event I'm doing in connection with Jo from Once Upon a Bookcase. So look out for that in the future.

Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks
Last Seen Wearing Trainers by Rosie Rushton
Now That I've Found You by Rex Harley
Starseeker by Tim Bowler
After the Death of Alice Bennett by Rowland Molony

So, 8 books and too many library books. Not bad. What about you - which books arrived into your house this week?

Favourite female characters in YA

I found this really difficult to do and even now, I feel as though I've missed some really obviously awesome female in a YA book. With the exception of Anne Shirley, most are from contemporary YA fiction. I'd really love to see someone's list that isn't so heavily populated by current fiction!

Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins - This came out first on my list, probably because Mockingjay is still fresh in my mind. Though a lot of the fight and rebellion was lost for Katniss in that last book, I still have to give her credit. She really stood up to the Capitol and fought to get what she wanted (to save Prim from the Games, to honour Rue, to save her's and Peeta's lives with the berries).

Sabriel from the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix - Sabriel kicks ass. I was completely swept away by this book, the world it was set in, absolutely everything. And that wouldn't have happened without such a fabulous character as Sabriel.

Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling - I really love Hermione Granger. She's really book smart and loyal. I could have just as easily said Ginny Weasley, or Tonks... JK Rowling writes such interesting female characters. How much do I heart kooky Luna Lovegood? I love that she really just doesn't care what other people think and that she's utterly and perfectly bonkers.

Lyra Silvertongue from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman -Lyra seems like a girl who knows how to have some fun. Like if we were friends, everytime we'd hang out there'd be an adventure.

Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery - There's such charm to Anne Shirley. Reading those books, there was nothing I wanted more than to wear puffed sleeves and be Anne's bosom buddy and make up stories together. In fact, I still want to do those things. Is it possible for me to still do these things?

Tiffany Aching from the young Discworld series by Terry Pratchett - I'm sure Tiffany could kick some butt with that frying pan. I've only read the first book in the series, and I have so much more Tiffany to read about! YAY!

Viola from the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness - Oh, poor Viola. The spaceship she's in crash lands on another planet kills her parents. She's left on her own in this crazy new world with Noise and horrific dictators and she's got to make some really tough decisions. I loved Viola throughout the series.

Dru Anderson from the Strange Angels series by Lili St Crow - Dru's a feisty one. I like that about her. Life throws her some raw deals, what with her dad becoming a zombie and a really powerful sucker like Sergej after her. And she's still up for looking after herself.

Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore - She's so fierce, Katsa, isn't she? Her Grace is surviving. When she carried the girl over the mountain? All the sword fighting with Po? Swoon. She tries to stand up to her horrid uncle and then train other girls to fight. My hero.

Mia Thermopolis from the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot - And because I didn't want this list to be all fantasy YA, I had to include one of Meg Cabot's heroines. And who better than Mia Thermopolis? She's funny and smart and wrote a book, and is a princess. Love her.

Runners-up: Hester Shaw from The Mortal Engines series. Clary from the Mortal Instruments. Tally Youngblood by from the Uglies Quartet. If I'd read these books more recently than they might have made the list :(

Who would make your list?

REVIEW: Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

"I have promised to be a model citizen daughter....I have confined my Shrimp time to making out with him in the Java the Hut supply closet and quick feels on the cold hard sand at the beach during our breaks, but enough is enough....Delia and I are planning a party at Wallace and Shrimp's house and I am spending the night whether Sid and Nancy notice or not. I will be as wild as I wanna be."

After being kicked out of a fancy New England boarding school, Cyd Charisse is back home in San Francisco with her parents, Sid and Nancy, in a household that drives her crazy. Lucky for Cyd, she's always had Gingerbread, her childhood rag doll and confidante.

After Cyd tests her parents' permissiveness, she is grounded in Alcatraz (as Cyd calls her room) and forbidden to see Shrimp, her surfer boyfriend. But when her incarceration proves too painful for the whole family, Cyd's parents decide to send her to New York to meet her biological father and his family, whom Cyd has always longed to know.

Summer in the city is not what Cyd Charisse expects -- and Cyd isn't what her newfound family expects, either.

I had a massive stack of paranormal YA books on my TBR pile today, some that needed to be finished pretty urgently for whatever reason. And I just wasn't feeling it. There's only so much I can take, right? So I went to my shelves and picked the slimmest realistic fiction book I could find to give myself a break. And oh boy, am I glad that my hands landed on Gingerbread. I'd had this book for awhile, but never gotten around to it. Partially because of that cover. I thought it was more of a pre-teen type of thing with the rag doll, and I really couldn't be more wrong about it. And the rag-doll turned out to be quite central to the story.

I really loved this book right from the first page. Cyd Charisse is such a fun character with a very unique voice and personality. She really had me laughing. Especially as she's so bold and at the same time really quite vulnerable. She gets kicked out of her East coast boarding school for bad behaviour and is sent home to San Francisco. Her only friends are an old woman in a nursing home and her short, surfer-boyfriend, Shrimp. Cyd Charisse's relationships with her mom and step-father (Sid and Nancy!) are tested beyond the limit and she's sent off to her biological father in New York.

Oh Cyd Charisse. She's off-the-rails a bit, with the sex and the attitude, but you can see how much it stems from the events that led to her getting kicked out of boarding school and her weird family structure. What Cyd Charisse is going through? The only YA novel I've ever read which has dealt with it in this way. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, even though it's told quite early on. But I approve. And I loved the journey that Cyd was on.. even with her confusing familial relationships and the decisions and mistakes that those around her made, she was able to grow up a little bit and put things more into perspective.

I love being surprised by a book like I was with Gingerbread and I cannot wait to read the other book in this series, Shrimp and Cupcake. More Cyd Charisse please!

Oh, the changes

You probably haven't noticed, but I've set up a new structure for my blog posts. Did you notice that? Mondays being mini-review days. Tuesday and Thursday being dedicated reviews. Friday being a bookish discussion-type post. I only do IMMs every other Saturday to make room for another fun project I'm working on (Awesome Women!). Sundays are currently free. Which leaves Wednesdays, where I've decided to write about personal things. That said, here we go...

We've had a lot of changes around here, I'm finding it a little difficult to get used to. The biggest change, of course is that my oldest Boy is now going to primary school. He looks adorable and yet so grown-up in his uniform. It makes me weepy. I keep having flashbacks of holding him in the hospital just after he was born, now look at him. Luckily, he seems to be really enjoying it, but it is like pulling teeth trying to get him to talk about what he does at school everyday. Or who he plays with. Oh well.

(Another big change for me related to The Boy going to a different school, all the walking! I've just added an hour's walk to my life every single day. Phew.)


And because Littlest felt left out about how much growing up his big brother is doing, we decided to potty train the Littlest. Soon, I won't have any babies left. Only big boys. With no nappies. Oh I need a hug.

I've started a new university course. Lots of reading to do, even if the course isn't as long as my previous one. It's interesting. I've just read a chapter about stress and now we're discussing PTSD, which is something my dad suffers from. I'm finding it all very fascinating. Though it has been hard to ease back into the studying thing. I think the long summer holidays are a struggle. How do other people get used to it?

And! And! N and I decided to give up meat. We're more than 10 days into this new challenge and going strong, even after doing the hard thing and ordering meat-free dishes when we've been out in restaurants. I say 'meat-free' as opposed to vegetarian - because we still eat fish and dairy products and eggs. I feel a lot better about myself and can't see myself changing from this any time soon. I would have never thought it'd be something I could do, but I'm quite happily suprised by it!

So, that's it. How are things going for you? Any big changes recently?

REVIEW:Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But ...They are brother and sister.

Forbidden will take you on an extraordinary emotional journey. Passionate and shocking, this is a book you will remember long after you have put it down.

This? Was a definite emotional roller coaster. I really have to applaud Tabitha Suzuma for choosing such a controversial subject to write about, sticking with it, and finally for writing about it incredibly well. All the way through Forbidden, I still had that lingering icky feeling that I have when I think about incest, even consensual incest, AND at the very same time I am rooting whole-heartedly for Maya and Lochlan to just together, damnit. How did that happen?

The justification for this odd-pairing seemed quite believeable when placing the two lovebirds in the awful home scenario presented in the book. Their youngish mother, keen to live out some of her fading youth very close to abandons these five children to their own devices, while their father has emigrated to Australia to start a new family. This leaves the two oldest, Lochan and Maya to juggle high school and their three younger brothers and sisters.

I'm really glad there was a dual-narrative, the reader can definitely see that this relationship definitely is consensual. For Maya, she's never seen Lochan as her brother, but more a partner in life. Much the same for Lochan, but his social anxiety is at such a level that he feels increasingly alone and can only really interact with family members. Both are under enormous pressure. To do well in school, to keep their brothers and sisters fed and clean, clothed and doing their homework. Even doing the bills and worrying about things far beyond what they should be worrying at their ages. Add that to these feelings that they know nobody else will understand or tolerate? It was Maya's perspective that I found the most engaging, but I did feel as though both voices felt a little similar.

It was very difficult reading this book. It would have been bad enough, just reading about the level of neglect and poor parenting of their mother, but added to this the guilt and confusion of Maya and Lochan as they realise their feelings for each other and try to supress their emotions. All the jealousy and the build-up to that final explosive conclusion. Phew. I was absolutely frazzled by the end. There's such a feeling of foreboding to this book, that it can't possibly end well, can it?

Has anyone else read anything besides by Tabitha Suzuma besides Forbidden? Because I'm a little excited to find a new author that I love with a backlist! My only minor complaint with Forbidden is that I sort of hated all the kids' names apart from Maya. Still, one not to miss, if you can handle the subject matter!

Mini-review Monday 2

For today's edition of mini-review Monday, I bring you some of the fantasy/paranormal YA books that I haven't yet gotten around to reviewing fully! First up...

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her Uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to carry out his dirty work, punnishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. Breaking arms and cutting off fingers are her stock-in-trade. Finding life under his rule increasingly unbearable Katsa forms an underground Council, whose purpose is to combat the destructive behaviour of the seven kings - after all, the Middluns is only one of the Seven Kingdoms, each of them ruled by their own king and his personal agenda for power. When the Council hears that the King of Liend's father has been kidnapped Katsa investigates . . . and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap him, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced fighter who challenged her fighting skills, for the first time, as she and the Council rushed the old man to saftey? Something dark and deadly is rising in the north and creeping across the continent, and behind it all lurks the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king . . .

Graceling was one of my favourite books that I've read all year. I really loved the premise of gracelings, the characters, the relationships and the setting of the story. I'd love to friends with Katsa and have her carry me over a mountain any day. Graceling is the story of a world where some people are born with unusual skills. These people are called gracelings and most people feel uncomfortable around them. And some are even feared, like Katsa, whose Grace is that for killing. Her uncle is quick and keen to exploit Katsa's Grace in order to strike fear into his political enemies.

Honestly, I have a bit of a girl-crush on Katsa. She comes across as incredibly likeable and a little intimidating with her awesome Grace. She tries to balance out the misdeeds of her uncle by forming an underground council and runs off doing good things. Including saving an old man who brings her into contact with the quite-sexy Po. Loved Po. I wanted to clap my hands everytime Po and Katsa were together during the first half of the novel. After the turning point, things were different, but STILL. I did enjoy the first half of the novel a bit more than the second, but Cashore was able to build an interesting fantasy world with believeable and likeable characters.

This review is quite shockingly bad, but seriously. Go out and read this one, you won't be disappointed. Me? I'm looking forward to the companion in the series, Fire.

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Beastly by Alex Flinn - A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Beastly when I first read it. It's meant to be a modern take on Beauty and the Beast, but I have to say, I was a little put off with the whole online-chatroom-support-group at the beginning. But once I got past that niggling concern, I found myself falling into Beastly pretty easily. It's very quick to get through and stays fairly close to the story that most people are familiar with. I'm not sure that it's adding anything major in this retelling, but there should be a lot of excitement for the new film coming out - starring Alex Pettyfer and Neil Patrick Harris. Holy crap, I'm excited about it just typing that sentence!

I'm kind of drawn to fairy tale retellings and this is one is OK. Enjoyable and not too taxing on the brain. I shall be looking out for other retellings written by Alex Flinn!

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Generation Dead by Daniel Waters -All over the tri-state area, something strange is happening. Teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they come back different - they stutter and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed 'living impaired' or 'differently biotic', there are lots of conspiracy theories to explain this new phenomenon. But as their numbers keep on growing, so does the discomfort of the living people in the community. When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, her best friend and star of the football team, Adam, has conflicting emotions. And when Tommy decides to try out for the football team, it sets off a chain of events that escalates into deadly violence.

Generation Dead really and completely surprised me. I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I wasn't even intending to read it. I'd picked up the sequel by accident. I had picked up a different book and it was in a Buy One Get One Free offer. I had read or owned everything else in the offer (this was awhile back) and the best of the rest seemed to be Kiss of Life, the sequel. It kind of languished on my shelf for ages, until one day I found Generation Dead in a charity shop for 50p. I figured 'why not?' and here we are.

Phoebe is a pretty regular high school student going about her business unaware that her best friend Adam has a crush on her. When students that have died start coming back to life, Phoebe does her best to continue treating them as though they weren't different. She even falls for one of the living-impaired, Tommy.

Like I said, I really didn't expect to enjoy this book about teenage zombies. I didn't outright love it though. It pulled up some interesting themes, especially racism, as the zombies were treated very differently or ignored or avoided. I remember as I was reading it, that the writing style made it feel as though the characters were a little distant and I didn't fully connect with a lot of them. That said, I am still really interested to find out where the story will go with Phoebe and Adam and Tommy... Thankfully, I have the sequel handy!

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The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman - More than anything else in the world, Lila wants to be a Firework-Maker. But every Firework-Maker must make a perilous journey to face the terrifying Fire-Fiend! Can Lila possibly survive? Especially when she doesn't know she needs special protection to survive his flames...The exciting and heart-warming story of Lila's journey to face the fearful fire demon fizzes with fun and drama.

I read this in one sitting. My Littlest was ill and we were cuddling on the sofa shortly after I went to a Philip Pullman event in Oxford. I was quite keen to read other books by Pullman that I'd never considered reading before. The Firework Maker's Daughter was pretty short and aimed at a younger audience than I'd usually read. It's fun. It's kind of an adventure story with one of those heart-warming messages that you don't mind if your kids read. I may have a better impression of this book than I should because I compare it to the other Pullman book that I read that day and didn't enjoy quite as much. If I remember correctly, this one had cute little illustrations!

It's the story of a girl who would like to follow in her father's footsteps and become a firework-maker. She asks her father how to go about this and sets off an a bit of an adventure. Luckily she has a really good friend willing to chase after her to help as she set off not knowing the full extent of how she would be tested.

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And there we have it! Another Monday, another set of mini-reviews. At least until I run out :)